Prayer of Trust in God’s Protection

Psalm 61

1 Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king’s life, His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.

When drowning in and overwhelming flood of trouble and turmoil David turns to God in prayer has his shelter from the storm. Many men give up on God when threatened. How do you handle your troubles? They stop petition, praising and performing their duties before God. They have forgotten all the past benefits from God, lost hope in all future blessings, and cannot see the present help available to them. This psalm has supplied the lyrics to many modern hymns, such as, To the Rock that is Higher Than I:

Oh! sometimes the shadows are deep, And rough seems the path to the goal, And sorrows, sometimes how they sweep Like tempests down over the soul.

Who were the enemies the king was facing? When did this overwhelming of the heart take place? The specifics are not made known. The superscription to this psalm only says: “To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.” Since David calls himself king in this psalm it could have been pinned in response to King Saul chasing the king anointed or even Absalom’s rebellion toward the end of David’s reign. Note the Hebrew word neginah is translated “stringed instrument” in the psalm’s title. The Holman Bible Dictionary defines this term to be “the plural form of Neginah, is used as a technical term in the superscriptions of several psalms (Psalm 4:1 , Psalm 6:1 , Psalm 54-55 , Psalm 61:1 , Psalm 67:1, Psalm 76:1 ) and as the subscription of Habakkuk 3:19 . The term is generally understood to specify the instrumentation needed for performance, ‘with stringed instruments’ (compare Isaiah 38:20; Lamentations 5:14). Other references suggest that neginah designates a taunt song ( Job 30:9; Psalm 69:12; Lamentations 3:14)”.

Prayer for Divine Protection

  • Fervency of Prayer

David addresses his prayer to God. Many pagans have cried out to false gods whom they made with their own hands. In contrast, the saints lift up hands in prayer to the God who created them. Modern man has his own idols he will petition and appeal to for help in times of crisis. Some seek out the expert wisdom of atheistic psychiatrist and self-help gurus. Some will turn to a life of hedonism through drinking and drugs.

Troubles have a way of driving men toward God. Others turn away from the Lord in times of adversity. David does not have a falling out with God or speaks out to blaspheme Him. To pour his heart out to God, made him closer to God.

David desperately desires for Deity to hear him. “Attend to my prayer” (61:1b). The Pharisees did not care if God heard them. They wanted to be seen praying before their fellow man. They did not perceive God as their Father and they His children. As a father attends to the cries of his children, so God will not fail to be moved by the prayers of His. The tears of the saints will not go unnoticed.

David was in peril and wanted God to do something about his plight. In the parable of the persistent widow, the judge is unjust but moved by the widow’s relentless pleas for justice (Luke 18:1-11). When the children of Israel were suffering under the yoke of Egyptian bondage, God heard their cries and sent a deliverer in Moses.

  • Location of Prayer

Heaven is equally responsive to prayer from anywhere. “From the end of the earth I will cry to You” (61:2a). In the wilderness David would find himself far from the Tabernacle but no further from God than if he were standing in the Holy of Holies right next to the ark of the covenant. Prayer is powerful. Saints can pray from any place, any time, about any thing, in any posture. Jonah was curled up in the belly of a great sea creature deep in the ocean and yet was able to pray the best prayer of his life. Paul wrote, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1 Tim. 2:8).

  • Time of Prayer

At what time did David utter this prayer? He said, “when my heart is overwhelmed” (61:2b). Prayers are most often offered more fervently when troubles are greatest. It is as if David had been cast into the sea and the waves were sweeping over him and drowning his heart. His heart is covered up with sorrow and pain. The hardest times to pray is when one is faced with the hardest times. He has been hit with a tidal wave of tribulation and a tsunami of sorrow. “Is any afflicted? Let him pray” (Js. 5:13).

  • Purpose of Prayer

A man drowning in the ocean needs to be pulled to solid ground. David’s prayer was for God to “lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (61:2c). David may be exhausted from trying to keep his head above water. Like Peter who began to sink when he began to doubt while walking upon the waves. “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matt. 14:30). David’s rock of safety is none other than God. To be safe, the rock of safety had to be the Rock that was higher than himself. In fact, it must be higher than the security provided by any man. Those who come to God He had promised them, “I will put thee in the cleft of the rock” (Ex. 23:22).

  • Confidence in Prayer

The confidence in prayer is based upon the trustworthiness of God. The reason for his request for God to save him is “for You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy” (61:3). David’s confidence is not just wishful thinking but is based on the evidence of God’s faithful protection in the past. When caught in the storms of life, David looked to God as his shelter. God had saved David from many a peril, and David had confidence that he could now: As a shepherd boy from the lion and the bear; from Goliath, From Saul’s spear and army; from the Philistine king Achish, from his sin, and from Absalom. As a city with a strong tower can protect its citizens, so God is a strong tower for those seeking refuge. Daniel found God’s protection when surrounded by hungry lions. His three friends found shelter in God from a burning fiery furnace. God is truly the only impregnable fortress. All those designed by men will sooner or later fall. A mighty fortress is our God.

– Daniel R. Vess

News & Notes

● Nothing will stir up more mud than a groundless rumor.
● There are married failures, but marriage is not a failure.
● Fewer wants, not greater wealth, will bring contentment.
● The easiest road to travel is the one that goes down.
● To receive a crown we must bear the cross.
● He who truly fears God does not need to fear any man.
● One who shares his blessings will surely be blessed

2017-02-05 - Ya' Snooze, Ya' Lose
2017-02-19 - Prayer of Trust in God’s Protection - Part 2
Categories: The Forum